When you have been in the business as long as I have, you develop a kind of sixth sense about when something is not right. Call it journalistic intuition. It usually comes in the form of an announcement on an issue that could result ...

Too often in life potential goes unfulfilled. We see it all the time, in all phases of society. There are those who are blessed with superior skills, be they physical or mental, yet can’t for whatever reason realize their true capabilities. On the rare ...

There is nothing sadder in sports than seeing a once-great athlete who has hung around too long. Separated from reality by handlers, friends or family — sometimes all three — they forge on in hopes of more glory and money, seemingly unable to look ...

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While Hokkaido Nippon Ham rookie Sho Nakata continues to turn heads at the plate during the exhibition season it may be a pair of rookie hurlers that make the biggest difference this year. Tohoku Rakuten’s Kohei Hasebe was impressive in his open-sen debut against ...

If there is one thing that can be said about the Central League offseason it’s that the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer. One of the stories of the CL offseason has been that the three teams that qualified for ...

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, far from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo’s hyper daily pace, Japanese swimmers enjoy a haven of privacy and a world-class training center as they prepare for the imposing challenge of competing for Olympic medals. Northern ...

Johnny Neumann’s trip through the world of basketball has been nothing short of an incredible journey. Starting out as a first-team high school All-American in Memphis, Tenn., back in the late 1960s, Neumann, who is now called John, embarked upon what has now been ...

“Only in Japan.” It is a common refrain for foreign residents who have been in this country for an extended period of time. It usually comes about when something happens that just about anywhere else would both defy logic and be beyond belief. Take, ...

It was an unforgettable year for sports in Japan in 2007. From Miki Ando’s gold medal-winning performance in the World Figure Skating Championships and Mao Asada’s silver-medal effort, to Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu’s unprecedented two-tournament suspension and pay cut for playing in a soccer exhibition ...

For those who have watched her perform for years, through good times and bad, it seemed almost inevitable. That’s how fragile the psyche of Miki Ando is. The world champion’s latest setback — a meltdown in the free skate at the NHK Trophy last ...

Not too long ago the general consensus was that Ai Miyazato would become Japan’s first breakthrough star on an American golf tour. She may yet become a superstar, but there’s another Japanese player that may get there first. In just her third year as ...

It’s amazing how vast the difference between perception and reality can be. We see people on television who look beautiful, dress exquisitely and perform nearly flawlessly under pressure, and we think, “They must be rich and famous.” Sad to say, but that is not ...